By Kristin Bonham

 “Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
Don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
He’s the one who will keep you on track.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 

Chris and I had a conversation recently trying to make sense of a few situations going on.  There are things happening and we really don’t know how they will turn out.  The options are not necessarily bad ones but we just don’t know which scenario will be the outcome.

So, naturally, we just sit back and watch God work and wait for His answer and find ourselves completely at peace.  NOT!  Anyone else struggle with wanting to know what God’s doing and how things will turn out?  I mean, I will let God be in control as long as he gives me all the clues so I’m able to understand what He’s doing all along the way.  No surprises!

As Chris and I were having probably the 10^th conversation about one particular thing, I pictured God looking at us saying, “Really??  You spend so much time, energy, brain space, words, etc trying to figure out what I’m doing.  You draw a conclusion and think you’ve nailed the answer and then you are at peace, for a moment.  What’s up with that??”  (Do you imagine God talking like that?)

It’s like we reason in our minds what’s coming and we park there and find our peace of mind in the fact that we think we’ve figured it out or figured God out.

So during my prayer time, God put these questions in my mind:

Do you want to focus on trying to figure out or reason what I’m doing?

Or

Do you want to focus on being ready to respond to what I’m doing?

That got my attention!  I started thinking about what it means to focus on figuring out what God’s doing.  My conclusions are usually not accurate.  I’m preoccupied with what might happen, could happen, what I want to happen or don’t want to happen.  I’m never satisfied with my answer.  I might have peace in the moment but in the next, it’s gone and I’m turning the problem over in my mind again.  It’s the crazy cycle!

What does it mean to be ready to respond to what God is doing?  It’s about the present.  My time is spent learning about Him and His character.  I have the opportunity to respond to Him and others in every encounter in my day. My peace comes from knowing that no matter what happens, He is God and He is good.  He will work all these things together for His glory.  I can truly trust in Him.  That verse in proverbs really comes alive!

 Trust God with all you heart… Don’t lean on your own understanding.

 

Which best describes where your focus is right now?  Are your time and energy spent reasoning or responding? 



 

 

Kristin Bonham is a pastor’s wife and the Women’s Ministry Director at Grace Family Church. She and Chris have been married for 25 years and have three children; Taylor, Abby and Casey.  She loves the beach, New York City and traveling with Chris. She collects books and reads some of them. Her favorite part of the week is Sunday lunch with her family and friends around the table.